CHENNAI: The scourge of manual scavenging, although outlawed, has consumed the life of yet another conservancy worker. Thirty-year-old A Dass, a contractual worker, died of asphyxiation after he went to rescue a fellow worker trapped in a manhole at Mugappair East on Wednesday. The other worker, identified as Ramachandran, is undergoing treatment at Kilpauk Medical College.
The police said both are contractual workers with the Chennai Metro Water Board. The incident took place at around 3:30 pm, when a team of 10 workers, hailing mostly from the western districts of the State, were trying to enable the laying of a drainage pipeline connecting Ori Street and Marai Malai Adigal Street.
According to fellow workers, Ramachandran had opened the manhole and was overpowered by the odour. Losing consciousness, he fell inside. Dass reached out to help but fell into the pit as well. Hearing the cries of the duo, people alerted the nearby JJ Nagar Police Station. Personnel from the fire and rescue service also rushed to the spot.
One of the first to respond to the cries was Govindhan, 39, a fellow worker. A native of Salem district, Govindhan rued that Dass and Ramachandran didn’t wear their safety harnesses. He reiterated that it was not choice but necessity that forced people like Dass to put their lives in danger. “We have been in the field (manual scavenging) for more than five years. We don’t like it but there are no alternatives.”
The death of Dass, a native of Rasipuram in Namakkal District, will leave his young family in an extremely vulnerable position. Govindhan said Dass leaves behind two daughters, both of them aged less than five. The police said Dass’ family has been informed and his body, currently kept at the KMC Mortuary, will be handed over once his wife reaches Chennai. A case under IPC section 304A (causing death by negligence) has been registered, with the police stating that they will take action against the supervisor. Significantly, the police have not yet invoked the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act, 2013.
While Metro Water Board officials could not be reached for comment, V Samuel Raj, state convenor of Safai Karmachari Andolan, a national movement for liberating and rehabilitating manual scavengers, told Express that they have requested the police to invoke the Prohibition of Manual Scavenging Act, 2013.
“Without this act, the deceased worker will not be eligible to receive the Rs 10 lakh compensation. But the police have not indicated anything in this regard,” he said. He added that continuous instances of manual scavenging deaths show the government’s lax attitude towards this illegal practice.